MEMORANDA ON PEARS. 



169 



ing favorite trees, and find it attended with 

 very satisfactory results. 



We have no doubt that the charred turf 

 is increased in value by being cut from 

 strong loamy or clayey, instead of sandy 



soil, on account of the more beneficial ac- combinations which it has formed. — Ed 



tion of heat on soils containing a good deal 

 of alumina ; and also that it is most power- 

 ful in its effects, when used directly after it 

 has been roasted, and before it loses, by 

 the action of moisture, any of the gaseous 



MEMORANDA ON PSARS. 

 BY THE LATE SAMUEL G. PERKINS, BOSTON. 



I SEE by your horticultural journal, that you 

 invite discussion on the comparative merits 

 of different kinds of fruit, particularly pears, 

 as the best mode of settling or establishing 

 a useful and correct nomenclature. 



The question has frequently been asked 

 me by gentlemen who are beginning to cul- 

 tivate fruits, " Which is the best pear ?" 

 and as there is no such thing as answering 

 this question directly, I have answered that 

 I could not tell, as it depended on so many 

 circumstances of which I could not be sup- 

 posed to have any knowledge. 



In the first place, there are Summer, Au- 

 tumn, and Winter pears, and each season 

 calls for fruit of totally different properties. 

 Then there are as many different tastes al- 

 most, as there are men ; some like a sweet, 

 luscious and aromatic fruit, as the Seckel ; 

 others like better the spirited, delicate and 

 delicious flavor of the St. Ghislain. Then 

 you have many that prefer the Gansel's (or 

 Brocas) Bergamot, and other pears of that 

 rich delicious flavor, without being too 

 sweet or too spirited. The White Doyenne 

 [or St. Michael] has always been a decided 

 favorite with many when in perfection, and 

 the Louise bonne de Jersey is esteemed in- 

 ferior to none of the autumn fruits. 



But the pear most esteemed in our mar- 

 ket is, I believe, (when you speak of sum- 

 mer and autumn fruits,) the pear commonly 

 Vol. II. 22 



known as the Bartlett. This pear, a wild- 

 ing of 1770, in Berkshire, Great Britain, 

 was sent or brought from England to this 

 country by Mr. James Carter, in 1796 or 

 1797, for his partner, Mr. T. Brewer, who 

 planted it in his grounds at Roxbury, under 

 the name of the Williams' Bon Chretien, 

 or properly. Good Christian, by which name 

 it was then and is now known in England, 

 where it is rated as second quality at Chis- 

 wick, as appears by the Catalogue of their 

 gardener, Mr. Thompson. Here it got the 

 name of Bartlett from the present owner 

 of the Brewer estate, w^ho, not knowing its 

 proper name, allowed it to be called by his 

 own. In France it is known as the Wil- 

 liams Pear {Poire Guillmime) where I think 

 it is rated still lower than in England. Now 

 many cultivators and fruit loving gentlemen 

 esteem this pear above all others, and as it 

 sells very high in the market, those who 

 raise fruit to sell may well esteem it highly. 

 But some gentlemen who esteem fruit in 

 proportion as it suits their palate, are prone 

 to consider it of inferior quality ; although 

 it is very large, and very handsome, and 

 very juicy. But they say it tastes like 

 rotten fruit. Suppose it be true, that it 

 has slightly the taste of an incipient state 

 of decay, is it to be condemned entirely on 

 that account ? The Medlar, which is one 

 of the apple and pear tribe, was formerly 



